About the Little RED Church

The goal of Little Red Church is to facilitate a low cost, multi-use space for creative individuals and groups to develop their own diverse programs and events. As well, to provide space for private events in a creative environment.

These programs and events are housed at the Little Red Church Hall. ​The concept of this Community Arts Centre is to bring together creative individuals and groups of all sectors and ages , from a large geographical area and provide opportunities and space for vibrant programs and events that are private or public, for the local community and tourists.

The Little Red Church Project

Resurrection of the Little Red Church One woman’s crusade to ensure an historic landmark doesn’t become history

It is Christmas Eve, 1889. Records don’t indicate whether or not there was snow on the ground but historical documents make it clear that there was excitement in the air! This would be the first year that St. John the Baptist Church parishioners would celebrate Midnight Mass with their very first resident pastor – Father Durand – and with music from a brand new organ played by Mary Downey (nee Anderton).

Father Durand would lead his congregation until 1898 and Mary Downey would lead the choir as the church organist for the next 30 years. For the next 100 years, St. John the Baptist Church was a hub of social and cultural activity for the Comox Valley. For the past two decades... not so much!

This historical landmark located on what is now the corner of Comox Avenue and Alpine Street wasn’t always red – it used to be white – and the structure that stands today isn’t the original one. The first church was erected in 1885 and consecrated (dedicated to a sacred purpose) in 1886. It was built on land donated by the Murphy family and constructed by William Anderton and his son John, with generous financial contributions from Michael Donahue, Joe Rodello and many parishioners.

In 1887, in a tragic act of God, two tall fir trees crashed down on the church during a fierce windstorm – essentially crushing it and cutting it in half! Needless to say, this was a major blow to the community. But, the pioneers of the Comox Valley took it in stride. In 1888, St. John the Baptist Church was reconstructed and subsequently consecrated again. As was common at the time, the building was built with pegs, not nails. More than 100 years later, this would prove to be a formidable problem as the construction technique – made fragile with time – made it impossible to move the building when its future was threatened.

Fast‐forward to 2010, and St. John the Baptist Church is essentially in lock down. While the attached community hall is still being rented on an occasional basis, the church is in a state of disrepair. It needs extensive structural preservation, electrical work, heating, plumbing and more. There’s a massive rat’s nest in a small room that was once the confessional. And, God only knows why, amongst the rat’s nesting materials is a foot‐high green ‘Jesus Saves’ piggy bank.

While still owned by the Roman Catholic Church, newspaper archives from the new Millennium chronicle that the property and its buildings were the subject of heated debate. The church had been declared an Historic Site in 1986 and there was considerable controversy about its future. Some people desired to see it saved. Others demanded it be demolished. The Roman Catholic Church needed it sold. And Comox Town Council simply wanted the case closed.

It was in the spring of 2010 that Kelly Pound, a young artist from Alberta, moved to the Comox Valley with her then 12‐year‐old daughter. She had no preconceived notions about becoming the driving force behind the resurrection of any local landmarks. History just unfolded. Pound was born and raised in Calgary and she graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design with a degree in Fine Arts in 1988. She spent a few years as a commission artist before becoming the owner of a successful art gallery and high‐end picture framing shop in Calgary. She ran that business from 1990 to 2010, before heeding a ‘call to the Island.’

“I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do once I arrived in the Comox Valley, so I took a year off to do some soul searching,” recalls Pound. “I started painting again and worked part‐time in a consignment store for a friend. My dream was to find a warehouse space to convert into a community art gallery, but the right property just didn’t seem to exist. One day, my realtor told me about the church. Despite its state of extreme disrepair, I was captivated with the potential of the site.”

In the past, Pound had purchased and extensively renovated five properties on her own, so she was certainly no stranger to hard work and the challenges of extensive Do‐it‐Yourself projects! And, as an artist, she has no trouble with creativity.

“After that first tour of the property I couldn’t stop thinking about the little church,” says Pound. “It wasn’t just that ideas were popping into my head. It was more like visions. My initial dream of an art gallery quickly evolved to include all aspects of visual and performing arts, as well as community events. In these visions, I saw this becoming a gathering place for people of all ages, all denominations.”

The property included about an acre of land as well as the historic church, with the attached community hall that had been added in the 1970s, and a 2,500‐square‐foot, two‐story home that was once the rectory. It was zoned for ‘public assembly’ as a church, which limited its use for other purposes. So, before she could put in a bid to buy it, Pound got busy trying to get the zoning changed to increase capacity, expand use, and allow for food services and liquor licenses.

With a clear vision to breath life back into what would soon be re‐named the ‘Little Red Church,” Pound submitted the first of what would be many applications to the Town of Comox for re‐zoning. While Councilwas a little hesitant at first, they welcomed the idea of turning the facility into an arts centre, but all in all, the process still took more than six months. Pound, however, was patient (sort of!) because she knew she had the Town Councilors on her side.

Once approval was granted in May 2012, Pound put in an offer to purchase. She became the proud new owner of the St. John the Baptist Church – and all its land and infrastructures – in June 2012.

“Town Council had been struggling with the status of this building for many years,” says Comox Mayor Paul Ives. “With the hope of selling the property, the Roman Catholic Church had asked that the Heritage designation be removed… but we didn’t want to do that. We were glad that Kelly came forward with plans to restore it for public assembly use. It is great to see the activities that are now happening there – from concerts to craft fairs – bringing life back to the building. It is good to see that she is making improvements and, by most accounts that I have heard, everyone is pretty happy with it.”

Over the past 18‐months Pound has proven that she’s not afraid of a little (or a lot!) of hard work and that she is into this project for the long haul. Her first renovation project was to take the interior décor of the rectory house from the 1970s to present day. This involved ripping out all of the carpet and putting in laminate flooring, interior painting, new window coverings and more.

“I had initially intended to clean up the house and move into it myself but, as I talked to people in the community, I realized that there was a demand for small workshop and meeting spaces. I had another vision!” says Pound with a smile.

It wasn’t long before the rectory was redecorated and renamed the ‘Little Red Church Healing Centre.’ The four former bedrooms are now transformed into beautifully decorated and fully furnished private meeting rooms. The large living room and the 15 X 25‐foot rec room are used as larger workshop spaces. The kitchen on the upper level and the laundry room/kitchen area on the main level, as well as bathrooms on both levels, add value to anyone wanting to rent space. Before long, a variety of alternative health‐related practitioners, community groups and more were booking space. In an average week the Healing Centre may be booked for such things as yoga and art classes, Mystic Valley Voices choir practices, Celtic Club meetings, a photography studio, workshop space and more.

Pound began tackling the Church Hall renovations in October 2012. Her first undertaking was to remove the suspended ceiling that masked an impressive vaulted ceiling and to rip down damaged wood paneling from around the perimeter of the room. The tear down would take three months because progress was hindered by the fact that hall was still being rented by a local church for their weekly worship. Each week the renovations had to stop, Pound had to clean up the space and move the pews back into place for the Sunday service.

“One week, I forgot to wipe all the dust off the pews and the parishioners all got dusty bottoms!” recalls Pound with a laugh. “I felt terrible about that! It certainly was a crazy, busy time!

“While I have done most of the work myself, I did pay two people to help me at this stage of the project,” she adds. “It is interesting to note that both men were creative types – one a musician and the other a sculpture artist. In fact, many of the people who have come forward to help over the past 18 months have been associated with the visual or perfuming arts community … it seems they are drawn to the building also.”

In order to keep her costs down and to support a commitment to reduce waste, Pound re‐used as much of the building materials as possible. The ceiling tiles, for example, were bundled, covered in fabric and remounted on the vaulted ceiling as acoustic panels. Anything that was salvageable, that she couldn’t re‐use, was donated to the ReStore. New tracking lighting was installed and the walls were repaired and painted a neutral colour. Another month was spent insulating the hall’s attic.

Today, the community hall space – now called the Little Red Church Arts Centre – is warm, welcoming and buzzing with activity. The work of local artists is featured on the walls, metal sculptures are dispersed throughout the space and a baby grand piano (on loan from the North Island Festival of Performing Arts) sits on the new stage.

Pound’s vision of a putting a community heartbeat back into this gathering space has come true. In the past year the Little Red Church Arts Centre has been booked for concerts, theatre and dance performances, Zumba and Tai Chi classes, Girl Guide sleepovers, a celebration of life and more. The Little Red Church Community Market, held on the first Sunday of each month, started in October. From the very first event, all 30 tables were sold as local crafters, artisans, food producers and farmers welcomed another opportunity to market their wares.

In September, the exterior of the Little Red Church Arts Centre received a facelift. Thanks to Oliver’s Painting, and a team of volunteers who simply showed up when they heard the painting project was taking place, the wooden shingles now sport a coat of bright red paint. And, although exterior renos are still a work in progress, progress is being made.

News of the Little Red Church facilities being available for rent to local groups and individuals has spread by word‐of‐mouth, social media, Pound’s website (LittleRedChuchComox.com) and with the support of the local newspapers.

“Both the Comox Valley Echo and the Record have been instrumental to my success and I am ever grateful for their support,” says Pound.

“The 124‐year‐old church is next of my list of renovations but the work that needs to be done there is extensive,” says Pound. “Quite frankly, I am a little overwhelmed by that the magnitude of this project!” So, Pound will hang up her hammer for most of the winter and focus instead on working with community groups to help promote events and activities in these two new/old community spaces. She will also investigate what government grants may be available to help her begin restoration of the church. She welcomes any support from individuals or businesses in this community who may be able to offer assistance with this rather daunting task.

“I have demonstrated that I am willing to pour my love and energy into the Little Red Church… and I am absolutely thrilled with the community response… but finding some support to help with the Heritage building project would be amazing!” concludes Pound.

While the church sanctuary is still ‘off limits’, 124 years since that inaugural Midnight Mass, there is excitement in the air once again as the spirit of Christmas and a celebration of community comes alive at this landmark location.

For more information on renting space at the Little Red Church Arts or Healing Centres, contributing to historic archives, or how you can help with Heritage building restorations call 250‐650‐6570 or visit littleredchurchcomox.com.

Special thanks to Terri Perrin , for writing the article and Christ the King parish archives volunteer, for their generous assistance with fact‐checking and research for this story and the historical timeline that will soon be online and posted on the wall in the Little Red Church Centre.

Renovation Pictures Here.Future renovations on the restoration of the Heritage Chapel is still to come.If you would like to get involved in some way to help with the restorations of the Designated Municipal Heritage Chapel please contact me! Volunteers and Donations would be most welcome, sign up today!

LITTLE RED CHURCH WISH LISTOur goal at the Little Red Church Community Arts is about recycle and reuse. We are always looking for items and materials to help with the Community Centre and the people that use it . We are always interested in any volunteer qualified services such as an Electricians , Plumbers ,Drywallers, Carpenters, Architect, Building Engineer and more to give advise or to help out in any way. We would much appreciate your talents and skills in this in this ever going Community project!

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